Luxury Experience - Frantoio Di Santa Tea Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva

As professional chefs and home cooks know, a great source for high-quality culinary ingredients is worth its weight in gold. We recently found and fell in love with the company Italian Products & Beyond that is an incredible resource for high-quality culinary ingredients. Their extensive collection of EVOOs, vinegars, truffle products, pates, pesto, tomatoes, coffee, fish, salts, nuts, sweets, and so much more, are the stuff of culinary dreams! We especially love the Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOOs) from Gonnelli 1585, Frantoio Di Santa Téa Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva. Happy Cooking!

We love to cook and are always looking for exceptional products to use in our recipe creations. We were absolutely delighted when we found the company, Italian Products & Beyond which has an amazing line of high-quality Italian culinary products. Their extensive product line is extremely tempting with their offerings of both savory and sweet ingredients.

The colors and flavors of Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOOs) vary greatly, which is why handcrafted artisan EVOOS are the darlings of the culinary world. We thought it would be interesting to compare two exceptional EVOOS from the Gonnelli 1585 trademark, a company with a very long tradition of excellence.

Green olive EVOO versus black olive EVOO, would be there be much of a taste difference? While the taste of green olives is vastly different from the taste of black olives, especially when one includes the taste profile of cured black olives, would there be a noticeable difference when the olives were pressed into olive oil? The answer we discovered was a resounding, yes!

How to Taste and Appreciate the Nuances of Olive Oil: Pour a small amount of olive oil in a snifter glass, let your hand warm the glass, swirl the glass gently to release the aromas and bouquet, then take a small sip of the oil to prepare your palate. Then take a second small sip to fully appreciate the nuances of the flavors.

Tasting Notes: Frantoio Di "Santa Téa" Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva (EVOO Green Olives) has a gorgeous golden color. The bouquet is a heady mixture with notes of artichoke and almonds. On the palate, it has fruity and spicy peppery notes with a slight bitterness. It has a smoothness and suppleness that denotes its excellence and quality. As a finishing EVOO, it is exquisite for adding extra flavor to culinary recipes. Price: $34.99 for 17 fl. ounces.

Tasting Notes: Frantoio Di "Santa Téa" Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva (EVOO Black Olives) has a richer, deeper greenish gold color. The bouquet is fruity, and this stunning beauty is remarkably full-bodied and smooth with more intense flavors and slight hint of sweetness that lingers on the palate. This is a remarkable finishing EVOO that works its magic when drizzled or will enchant your taste buds when used as a dipping oil for crusty artisan bread. Price: $35.99 for 17 fl. ounces.

Luxury Experience had a great time in the kitchen creating special culinary recipes for you to enjoy using Frantoio Di "Santa Téa" Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva (EVOO Green Olives), and Frantoio Di "Santa Téa" Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva (EVOO Black Olives), that show their rich diversity and intoxicatingly delectable flavors.

Luxury Experience - "Charred" Portabella "Burger" with Spirited Tomato Relish is a very tasty offering for "meatless Mondays" or as vegan/vegetarian offering. Make Luxury Experience - Spirted Tomato Relish at least a few hours ahead, preferably 1-day ahead, to allow the flavors to meld, before serving.

Luxury Experience - Spirited Tomato Relish is our tasty relish made with Continuum Distilling Charred, grape tomatoes, Spanish olives, garlic, golden raisins, capers, Frantoio Di Santa Téa Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva (Green Olives EVOO), maple syrup, and fresh flat leaf parsley. Make ahead and refrigerate until ready to use. This very tasty relish works its culinary magic on a portabella "burger" or other type of burger. The relish also makes a great topping for bruschetta.

Method for the Portabella "Burger": Blend Continuum Distilling Charred with the butter. Brush the cap side of the mushroom with the olive oil. Spread the butter mixture on the underside of the mushroom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan, add the portabella mushrooms cap side down, cook for 1 minute, then turn cap over to cook the underside. The mushroom "burger" will be nice and juicy.

Presentation: Toast a roll, top with portabella mushroom "burger" and finish with Luxury Experience - Spirited Tomato Relish. Add lettuce and tomato to plate if desired.

Method for the Tomato Relish: Heat a saucepan, add the olive oil, then tomatoes and garlic cloves and cook over medium heat until tomatoes are blistered. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 1-minute. Place ingredients in a food processor and process until mixture is coarsely chopped to create the relish. Place in a glass jar in the refrigerator and store until ready to use.

Luxury Experience - Rainbow Chard with Cured Black Olives, Sundried Tomatoes, Great Northern Beans, and Garlic over Creamy au Gratin Polenta

Method: Wash the Rainbow Chard and remove the stems to use for pickles. See recipe below.

For the leaves, use the chiffonade technique. Lay the leaves flat on a cutting board. Tightly Roll the leaves widthwise, then cut into half-inch slices. This technique will provide you with thin ribbons of chard.

Heat a large sauté pan, add salt and pepper to the hot pan, add the olive oil, garlic, and then the chard. Sauté chard until almost wilted, add the olives, sundried tomatoes, and beans.

Presentation: Place the creamy polenta in the bottom of a bowl. Top with the chard mixture. Drizzle with extra Frantoio Di "Santa Téa" Olio Extra Vergine Di Oliva (EVOO Black Olives) and serve.

Method for the Polenta: Heat a medium saucepan, add the olive oil and minced garlic, and cook until garlic is golden. Add the water and bring it to a boil, add the polenta, and stir to thoroughly combine. Add the cheeses, stir, cover, and remove from heat.

We believe in the culinary principle of, "waste not, want not," and use the stems of the Rainbow Chard to create tasty pickles.

Method: Add all ingredients above and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Pour liquid over Swiss Chard stems packed into a glass Mason jar. Secure lid on jar. Place jar in boiling water with the water coming up three-quarters of the way up the jar. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from water and set on a cooling rack. Once cool, refrigerate for a 1 week before using the pickles.

Method for the Homemade Lemon Simple Syrup: Remove peel from 1 lemon. Add to a saucepan with 1 cup water, 1 cup simple syrup and bring to a boil until liquid is clear. Remove from heat and let sit until syrup is cool. Remove the peels from the syrup and strain syrup into a glass jar and refrigerate syrup until ready to use. (Note: Syrup lasts several weeks and can be used to sweeten cocktails and other beverages, brush on fruit and grill, or add to your favorite marinade.)

What to do with the Peels: Place lemon peels from the syrup on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in a 200-degree Fahrenheit oven until thoroughly dried. Let cool on baking rack. Place dried lemon peels and some sugar in a blender and blend to create homemade lemon sugar, perfect for rimming cocktails or added to tea.

Method for the Chive Simple Syrup: Add quarter of a cup of fresh chives to a saucepan with 1 cup water, 1 cup simple syrup and bring to a boil until liquid is clear. Remove from heat and let sit until syrup is cool. Remove the chives from the syrup and strain syrup into a glass jar and refrigerate syrup until ready to use. (Note: Syrup lasts several weeks and can be used to sweeten cocktails and other beverages, brush on fruit and grill, or add to your favorite marinade.)

"Italian Products Srl was established in Bologna in 1994 by developer Stefano Frascari as a way to share some culinary delicacies with his friends in New York. The company expanded from a casual idea to a lifeline for several small, artisanal manufacturers around Italy, wanting to sell their products in the U.S. In the year 2000, Italian Products USA, Inc. opened offices and a warehouse in New Jersey, to more efficiently serve its nationwide customers. 20 years after its founding, Italian Products USA has developed an important presence in the gourmet market around North America. Customers range from large foodservice distributors to retail chains as well as independent gourmet markets. For all customers, programs include sourcing and product development, private labels, and distribution along with sales support, training, and travel projects. Our consulting services include training, B2B projects, label design, FDA regulations, product compliance and much more. Each project is built on spec, so just ask and we will provide. We believe in building long-lasting relationships, based on trust and respect. For all customers, programs include sourcing and product development, private labels, and distribution along with sales support, training, and travel projects. Our consulting services include training, B2B projects, label design, FDA regulations & FSMA, product compliance and much more. Each project is built on spec, so just ask and we will provide. Gourmet food and excellent service is our passion."

"The story of the Gonnelli family dates back to 1585 when on the 13th of February the brothers Francesco, Lorenzo and Giulio, the sons of Taddeo di Michele di Lorenzo, bought for 300 coins from the Friars of the "Convento del Carmine di Firenze" the farm of Santa Téa, as proven in the sales document held at the Public Notary Records office in Florence. At that time the related oil mill, built in 1426, was known and appreciated for its special oil, the result of olives made noble by the particular micro-climate of the sunbaked upland plain of Reggello, 400 meters above sea level, which is 30 minutes from Florence in a southerly direction. "

"Since then the Gonnelli family, brothers, children and grandchildren, raised in the shadow of the Frantoio di Santa Téa, monument of hard work of yesterday and today, handed down a true art, with all the knowledge, wisdom and expertise in the cultivation of olives and their pressing. The artisan arts of olive growers, developed at the time of the medieval guilds, still preserve the techniques and secrets of the task of producing the finest oil. An art that derives from the best tradition of the oil mill, preciously preserved in the museum and from the ongoing experimentation in innovation research, both in relation to production and cultivation."

"Gonnelli 1585 is a trademark that represents the relationship between the Gonnelli Family and the world of traditional oil production. In 1585 the family bought the farm of Santa Téa and the related Oil Mill built in 1426. Today the Gonnelli family, also owner of the Frantoio di Vertine in the Chianti Classico, represents one of the Italian excellences in the world of Extra Virgin Oil. The philosophy has always been to offer a healthy, genuine, and natural product and this is only possible by following directly every phase of the production: for each process we apply new innovative technologies to obtain an excellent product. A company that achieved several milestones in the sector and has been a continuous endorser of the importance of oil as food with innumerable nutritional and health-related properties, as well as bearer of taste and value in every dish and preparation. Today Gonnelli 1585 offers a wide and varied range of products that includes sixteen different oils with their various tastes and aromas."

To learn more about Italian Products & Beyond and to purchase their exceptional products please visit their website: www.italianproducts.com or telephone them at: +1-201-770-9130.

Italian Products & Beyond
Artisan Tradition and Epicurean Innovation
Italian Products USA, Inc.
758 Lidgerwood Avenue
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07202
United States
Telephone: +1-201-770-9130
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.ItalianProducts.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/italianproductsandbeyond
@italianproductsandbeyond
Twitter: @ItalianProdUSA